JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Former World Team Member Ally Somera has been named the first-ever assistant women's wrestling coach in New Jersey City University history, head coach Elena Pirozhkova announced. Somera comes to NJCU with more than a decade of experience as a competitor on the mat.
 
Somera served as the head coach of the Nassau Community College women's wrestling program in 2018-19. She was the program's assistant coach in 2017-18.
 
The U.S. Army veteran is a nine-time All-American. Her national military athletic career spanned seven years from 2010-2017, culminating with her position as a 2017 U.S. Armed Forces Military World Team Member. She was ranked as high as fifth in 2017 in the 48 kg. Senior Division. Somera was a three-time U.S. Senior World Team Trial Qualifier in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
 
A 2013 Junior National Team Member, Somera was a bronze medalist at the 2013 Junior Pan American Championship. She first made her national team appearance in 2010 as a Cadet National Team Member.
 
"I knew Ally would be a good fit for NJCU because of her time and experience in the sport," said Pirozhkova. "She has wrestled in college, the Olympic Training Center, and in the military World Class Athlete Program. She has been a head coach of a junior college in New York and works with the Beat the Streets wrestling program in NYC as well. With her wide range of experience, she was the perfect choice to help me grow this program to its full potential."
 
Somera is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in History at SUNY Old Westbury this academic year. Previously, she attended Cochise College in Arizona, graduating with an AS in Intelligence Operation Studies in 2017. She competed in one year of collegiate freestyle wrestling (2011-12) at 48 kg for Coach Shannyn Gillespie.
 
Somera is a 2011 graduate of Kailua High School in Kailua, Hawaii where she captured the 2011 Hawaii State Championship. A three-sport athlete for the Surfriders, Somera was a four-year varsity wrestler from 2007-11 for Coach Charles Kaulukukui. On the mat, she was a two-time Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) First-Team Selection, a two-time OIA champion and a two-time OIA East Champion as a junior and senior in 2010 and 2011.
 
Outside of making an impact in the sport of women's wrestling, Somera has been cadet serving as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army for the last four years. She continues to train in MMA in her free time.
 
Born in Hawaii, Somera, 26, resides in Staten Island, N.Y. with her fiance, Robert. 
 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on NJCU men's and women's wrestling and #NJCUWrestling, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. We Are Jersey City's Team.   
COLLEGE TRANSACTION: 
 
NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY—Selected Ally Somera as school's first-ever assistant women's wrestling coach.